After 30 years of roaming the country, reporting Scotland for a wide range of programmes on radio and television, David Calder is moving into a new sphere - online training.

A director of the online video production company, BITWeb.tv, he's been asked to advise firms on how best to use video as a marketing tool. So he's created a course that covers everything from the kit you might need to the content of the videos, from creating a digital marketing strategy to optimising and promoting the videos you make.

Working with his wife, Penny Haywood Calder of PHPR, he will also be producing a series of webinars on Public Relations as well. And to complete a trio of services, he'll be developing a series of media and communication skills courses as well.

We’ve been working with The Famous Grouse for several years now; so when they said they planned to go for the World record for the largest bottle of whisky ever, it just had to be filmed. The trouble is that nowhere in the UK has the facilities to make a glass bottle of that size any more. In fact, the only firm that can is Bomma in the Czech Republic. Sadly, we didn’t get to film there — a local crew did that; but the final shots were taken in Scotland and the whole piece edited here. The event took place on the “birthday” of The Famous Grouse — Sunday the 12th of August 2012 — at The Famous Grouse Experience just outside Crieff in Perthshire and a representative of Guinness World Records was on hand to confirm that the old record (held by Jack Daniels in the USA) hadn’t just been broken — but smashed! 228 litres is a LOT of whisky.

You can never tell what will become a “viral video”. The people commissioning and making the video certainly can’t make that decision. It’s entirely up to the viewers when they share what they like. At BITWeb.tv we can advise on what might give you a head start…but then it’s up to the audience.

When you ask someone to appear in front of a camera, especially if they’re to speak directly to the lens, then they’ll often shy away. People who haven’t appeared on TV are usually terrified by the idea of speaking to the camera. But it’s important to remember that they’re actually more afraid of the “idea” than the reality. However, there’s an easy way to help them overcome that fear. At BITWeb.tv, we offer business people the chance to use our teleprompter or autocue. It works in exactly the same way as the systems in TV studios, with the equipment attached in front of the lens and your words scrolling up the screen of a smart phone or tablet.

Is there a difference between a traditional corporate video and one made with online in mind? The answer is almost certainly “yes” but how many organisations appreciate it? The traditional model is expensive; you probably need a minimum budget of £20,000+! It’s also much longer than anything anyone would tolerate watching online – some are over 10 minutes long. With “made for online”, you are talking about having to spend hundreds rather than thousands of pounds. And the videos have to be short – no more than 3 minutes long at most. But how many organisations still think they can have a “one size fits all” video made for them. Should they really be thinking about using the same feature-length piece for the AGM, for a presentation to staff and for YouTube? Or should they be looking at buying “horses for courses” and tailoring their video to the audience they have in mind?